Holder for used plastic bags

ABSTRACT

A bag holder for plastic bags comprising a container having a pair of spaced apart side walls and a front wall joining the side walls. The side walls diverge slightly moving away from the front wall. The ends of the container are open and the back is also open. The ends of the container are angled toward each other from the back toward the front of the container. There is a panel at each end attached to the side walls and extending forwardly from the back of the container for between about one quarter and one half of the distance between the front and back of the container. The panels partially close each end leaving an opening at the front of each end, one opening forming an inlet for the container and the other opening forming an outlet for the container. The container is nestable in an identical container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is directed toward a holder for used plastic bags.

2. Description of Related Art

Holders for plastic bags are well known. Many employ a small top inlet opening in the holder through which bags are to be loaded. Others employ holders with an open top and bottom. The small inlet makes, loading bags difficult. The open top and bottom make loading bags easy but makes retention of bags in the holder difficult particularly when pressing the already loaded bags in the holder downwardly with a newly loaded bag. Many bag holders are also bulky and thus expensive to manufacture and also require a lot of space to ship and store increasing the cost of the holders.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a plastic bag holder which is simpler in construction and cheaper to manufacture. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a bag holder which can be more easily loaded. It is another purpose of the present invention to provide a plastic bag holder in which bags can more easily be retained. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a plastic bag holder which can be mounted in different positions making it more versatile. It is yet another purpose to provide a plastic bag holder which can be nested one within the other to conserve shipping and storage space.

In its simplest aspect, the bag holder of the present invention can comprise an elongate, enclosed, container with open ends. One open end will act as a bag inlet to the container and the other open end will act as a bag outlet for the container. At least the one open end has an end panel closing a rear portion of the open end, the panel extending forwardly from the rear of the container to terminate in a front edge. The panel is used to help load a bag into the holder. In one modification, the one open end of the container, with its end panel, is angled toward the other end of the container, from the rear of the container toward the front of the container, at an angle between 15° and 50°, and preferable at about 30°. The sloping end panel helps make loading of the bag even easier.

In a further aspect of the invention, the other open end of the container can also have an end panel closing the rear portion of the other open end, the panel extending forwardly from the rear of the holder to terminate in a front edge. In a further modification, the other open end, with its end panel, is angled toward the one open end, from the rear of the container to the front of the container, preferably at the same angle, as the one open end is angled toward the other open end. Either end of the container in this embodiment can be used as the inlet with the other end serving as the outlet.

In a still further aspect of the invention the container can comprise an elongate, partly enclosed, container having a pair of sidewalls joined by a front wall. The back of the container is open. One end of the container is open and forms a bag inlet. The other end of the container is also open and forms a bag outlet. At least the one open end has an end panel closing a rear portion of the open end, the panel extending forwardly from the rear of the container toward the front wall to terminate in a front edge. The one end panel is joined solely to the side walls opposite the front wall. The other open end can also have an end panel closing a rear portion of the open end and terminating in a front edge. The other end panel is also joined solely to the side walls opposite the front wall. Preferably, the one open end, with its end panel, is angled toward the other open end at an angle between 15° and 50°, from the rear of the holder toward the front of the holder and the other open end, with its end panel, is also angled toward the one open end, from the rear of the holder to the front of the holder, preferably at the same angle as the one open end is angled.

In another aspect of the invention, the side walls are angled slightly toward each other in moving from the rear to the front of the container. In a modification; each side wall has a relatively narrow rear section that is parallel with the narrow rear section of the other side wall and a relatively wide front section that is angled slightly toward the relatively wide front section of the other side wall. Preferably a female connecting strip of a two part connector is mounted on the rear narrow section of one of the side walls and a male connecting strip of the connector is mounted on the rear narrow section of the other side wall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the simplest embodiment of the bag holder;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a modification of the bag holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial, broken away, side view of a modified bag holder;

FIG. 4 is a top view showing another modification of the bag holder;

FIG. 5 is a partial, broken away, side view of the bag holder shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the top of another modification of the bag holder;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section view along line 7-7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a right hand view of another embodiment of the bag holder;

FIG. 9 is a left hand view of the bag holder shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a top view of the bag holder of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a detail top view of the right hand side of the bag holder of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 12 is a detail top view of the left hand side of the bag holder of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The plastic bag holder 1, in one aspect as shown in FIG. 1, comprises an elongate, enclosed, container 3. The container 3 has two side walls 5, 7 that are parallel and Joined at the front by a front wall 9 and at the back by a back wall 11. The four walls are generally of the same width. The front wall 9 can be straight, as shown, or convex, bulging outwardly. The container 3 has open ends 13, 15. The open ends 13, 15 are parallel and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 17 of the container 3. At least one open end 13 has an end panel 19 covering a rear portion of the open end to form an inlet 21. The end panel 19 is joined to the side walls 5, 7 and the back wall 11. Generally the end panel 19 covers about the rear third of the open end 13 but can cover between one quarter and one half of the one open end 13. The end panel 19 extends from the back wall 11 toward the front wall 9 terminating in a front edge 23. The front edge 23 can be straight in its center section 25 with forwardly angled sections 27 at its ends, as shown, or it can be concave. The front edge 23 extends between the side walls 5, 7.

The enclosed container 3 has a mounting tab 29 extending up from the back wall 11 above the one open end 13 and another mounting tab 30 extending down from the back wall 1 below the other open end 15. Alternatively, or in conjunction with tabs 29, 30, side mounting tabs 31, 33 can extend laterally from the back wall 11 past the side walls 5, 7. The tabs have holes 35 therein through which fasteners can pass. The tabs can be used to fasten the container 3 to a flat vertical wall surface 36, as shown in FIG. 2, with the one open end 13 at the top and the other open end 15 at the bottom. When the container is fastened to the wall surface with the inlet 21 in the one open end 13 at the top, used plastic bags can be compressed on the end panel 19 and then slid along the panel and off the front edge 23 of the panel into the container 3 through the inlet 21. The bags can be removed through the open end 15 which forms an outlet 37 for the container 3.

Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the enclosed container 3 can be modified to have an end panel 41 covering about a third of the other open end 15 to form an outlet 37 a. The end panel 41 would be connected to the side walls 5, 7 and the back wall 11 and would have the same front edge 23 as the end panel 19. The size of the end panel 41 could vary in the same range as the size of the end panel 19 varies but preferably covers about the rear third of the other open end 15 a. The end panel 41 would serve to hold the bags in the container 3. The container 3 could be used with the open end 15 at the top to form the inlet. The container 3 could also be used when in a horizontal position, loose on a counter or when mounted in a horizontal position under a shelf. Either open end could be used as the inlet.

The cross-section of the enclosed container 3 is generally a square with about five inch sides. For the container 3 with a restricted inlet 21 and an unrestricted outlet 37 the inlet 21 is about five inches wide and about three and a half inches long and the outlet 37 is about five inches square. For a container 3 with both the inlet 21 and outlet 37 a restricted in size, both are about five inches wide and about three and a half inches long. The cross sectional area of the container could be a square with sides up to seven inches long and or with sides as short as about three inches. The size would depend on the size of bag being stored. The cross-sectional area could also be rectangular. The container 3 can be from about sixteen to about twenty four inches long. A longitudinal slot 47, as shown in FIG. 1, is centrally located in the front wall 9, the slot wide enough to insert an implement such as pencil or a finger to move bags within the container.

The enclosed container 3 a preferably, as shown in FIG. 3, has at least the one open end 13 a and the end panel 19 a angled downwardly and forwardly toward the other open end 15 a at an angle β to the horizontal of about 30°. The open end 13 a is defined by parallel side Walls 5 a, 7 a and front and back walls 9 a, 11 a. The angle 13 can vary between about 15° and 50°. The angled end 13 a makes it easier to insert the crumpled bag into the inlet 21 a from off the sloping end panel 19 a. The user would crumple the bag both in his hand and against the sloping end panel 19 a, and the top mounting tab 29 if used, and then just slide crumpled bag down off the front edge 23 a of the sloping end panel 19 a into inlet 21 a. The sloping end panel 19 a serves to more easily guide the hand holding the bag to the inlet where the bag is released into the inlet 21 a. If the container 3 has an end panel 41 a at the other open end 15 a, the other end 15 a can also be angled in the same manner as the one open end 13 a but upwardly and outwardly toward the one open end 13 a. Having both ends 13 a, 15 a angled permits either end of the container to be the top inlet 21 a and the other end to be the bottom outlet 37 a. It also permits either end 13 a, 15 a to be the inlet 21 a when the container 3 a is mounted horizontally to the bottom of a shelf or the like, or mounted on, or resting on, a horizontal surface.

The container shown in FIG. 3 could be used without the back wall 9 a. The side walls 5 a, 7 a would extend rearwardly from the front wall 9 a. The space between the rear ends of the side walls 5 a, 7 a, the back of the container, would be open providing a partly enclosed container. The partly enclosed container is mounted against a wall 36 using the side mounting tabs 33. The wall closes the back of the container. The end panels 19 a, 41 a are connected to the side walls. The mounting tabs 29, 30 could be made integral with the end panels 19 a, 41 a and could be used with, or instead of, the side mounting tabs 33.

In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, the holder 1 b, is an elongate, partly enclosed, container 3 b. The container 3 b has the side walls 5 b and 7 b diverging slightly away from each other in moving from the front wall 9 b toward the back 49 of the container 3 b. The back 49 of the container 3 b is open. The container 3 b has open ends 13 b, 15 b which are angled away from each other, moving away from the front wall 9 b, toward the open back 49 of the container, at an angle β of 30°. The angle can range between 15° and 45°. Each open end 13 b, 15 b is partly closed by an end panel 19 b, 41 b respectively extending forwardly from the back 49 of the container toward the front wall 9 b. The end panels 19 b, 41 b close off about the rear third of the open ends 13 b, 15 b forming an inlet 21 b at one end 13 b and an outlet 37 b at the other end 15 b. The end panels 19 b, 41 b, are joined to the ends of the side walls 5 b, 7 b adjacent the back 49 of the container making the container more rigid. With the side walls 5 b, 7 b diverging away from each other from the front wall 9 b; with the open ends 13 b, 15 b, including the end panels 19 b, 41 b, angled out and away from the front wall 9 b and from each other; and with no back wall; the container 3 b can be stacked within another identical container 3 b from the back of the container. A number of containers 3 b can be stacked to conserve space and make shipping and storage cheaper.

In another aspect of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 the end panel 19 c at angled end 13 c of the container 3 c can be attached a short distance within the end 13 c of the container to be recessed within the container. The projecting portion of the side walls 5 c, 7 c of the container 3 c, past the end panel 19 c at end 13 c would form low fence sections 57, 59 respectively. The fence sections 57, 59 would combine with the mounting tab 29 e, if used, to form an enclosure open at the inlet 21 c that would help in crumpling the bags and also help in guiding the crumpled bags into the inlet 21 c. The mounting tab 29 c at end 13 c could be positioned between the fence sections 57, 59 and attached to them and also attached to the back end of the end panel 19 c. The same construction could be used at the angled other end of the container with the end panel at the other end recessed a short distance within the container from its other end. This embodiment of container could still be nested but not as efficiently as the model with the end panels flush with the ends of the holder.

In a further aspect of the invention, as shown in FIGS. 8-12, the container 3 d can be provided with connectors on its side walls 5 d, 7 d for connecting two or more containers 3 d side by side to increase capacity. The cross-sectional shape of the container 3 d is slightly modified to have side walls 5 d, 7 d each with narrow, rear, side sections 67 that are parallel to each other while the wider, front, side sections 69 are angled toward each other and joined by front wall 13 d. The end panels 19 d, 41 d at each end 13 d, 15 d respectively are slightly modified to fit between the side walls 5 d, 7 d. A female connector strip 71, forming part of a two part connector, having a very narrow stylized capital C-shaped cross-section, is attached by a rear panel 72 on one rear side section 67 on one side wall 7 d adjacent its rear edge 73 to have the C-shaped cross-section facing outwardly. A male connector strip 75 having a very narrow stylized capital H-shaped cross section is attached along the other narrow, rear, side section 67 on the other side wall 5 d adjacent its rear panel 77. By ‘stylized’ in this instance it is meant that the letter shape is thinner and higher than normal and has an angular, as opposed to a rounded, shape. The H-shaped cross-section has one leg 79 of the two long legs of the capital H slightly shorter than the other leg 81. The shorter leg 79 faces outwardly and fits snugly within the capital C shape of the female connector strip 71. The male connector strip 75 is mounted on the side wall 5 d with the short arm 79 facing outwardly and the long arm 81 adjacent the wall 5 d.

The male connector strip 75 on one container 3 d can be interlocked with the female connector strip 71 on an adjacent container 3 d by sliding the short leg 79 on the male connector 75 into the female connector 71 with their adjacent rear side sections 67 parallel to each other and with their adjacent front side sections 69, diverging from each other. The containers 3 d with the connector strips 71, 75 are still individually stackable but not as efficiently as the containers 3. The connector strips 71, 75 can be attached to the side walls 5 d, 7 d with adhesive or other suitable means. Alternatively they could be molded integral with the container.

The containers with the connector strips can have square or angled ends; can employ only one end panel at one end or a panel at each end; can employ parallel sidewalls or side walls that are angled slightly toward each other; or can employ one or two end panels that are recessed a short distance within the container. 

1. (canceled)
 2. (canceled)
 3. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 2 wherein the container, when upright, has the inlet opening at the top, the one open end, including the end panel, angled downwardly and forwardly at an angle ranging from between 15° and 45°.
 4. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 2 wherein the other open end of the container has an end panel closing a rear portion of the other open end to provide a restricted bag outlet opening at the other open end; each open end, including its end panel, angled forwardly and toward the other open end at an angle ranging from between 15° and 45°.
 5. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 2 wherein the end panel is recessed a short distance from the one end within the container.
 6. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 4 wherein each end panel is recessed a short distance within the container from its associated container end.
 7. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container is a partly enclosed container having a pair of spaced apart side walls extending between the ends of the container and joined at the front by a front wall, the end panel extending from the back of the container toward the front wall and joined to the side walls and terminating in a front edge extending between the side walls.
 8. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the container, when upright, has the inlet opening at the top, the one open end, including the end panel, angled downwardly and forwardly at an angle ranging from between 15° and 45°.
 9. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the other open end of the container has an end panel closing a rear portion of the other open end to provide a restricted bag outlet opening at the other open end; each open end, including its end panel, angled forwardly and toward the other open end at an angle ranging from between 15° and 45°.
 10. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the end panel is recessed a short distance from the one end within the container.
 11. A plastic bag holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the back of the container is open and the two side walls are angled slightly toward each other to be closer together at the front of the container than at the back of the container, the container nestable in an identical container.
 12. A bag holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the back of the container is open and each of the spaced apart side walls have at least a major front portion that is angled toward the major front portion of the other side wall toward the front of the holder; each side wail having a minor rear portion that is parallel to the minor rear portion on the other side wall, the container partially nestable in an identical container.
 13. A bag holder as claimed in claim 12 wherein there is a male connector strip on the outside of the minor rear portion of one of the side walls and a female connector strip on the outside of the minor rear portion of the other side wall.
 14. A bag holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein the panel at each end is recessed a short distance from the end within the side walls.
 15. A bag holder comprising a partly enclosed container, the container having: a pair of spaced apart side walls and a front wall joining the front ends of the side walls; the ends of the container angled toward each other from the back toward the front of the container; a panel at each end attached to the side walls and extending forwardly from the back of the container for between about one quarter-and one-half of the distance between the front and bade of the container to partially close each end leaving an opening at the front of each end, one opening forming an inlet for the container and the other opening forming an outlet for the container; each panel having a front edge extending between the side walls.
 16. A bag holder as claimed in claim 15 wherein each of the spaced apart side walls are angled toward the other side wall toward the front of the container whereby the container is nestable in an identical container.
 17. A bag holder as claimed in claim 15 wherein each of the spaced apart side walls have at least a major front portion that is angled toward the major front portion of the other side wall toward the front of the container; each side wall having a minor rear portion that is parallel to the minor rear portion on the other side wall, the container partially nestable in an identical container.
 18. A bag holder as claimed in claim 17 wherein there is a male connector strip on the outside of the minor rear portion of one of the side walls and a female connector strip on the outside of the minor rear portion of the other side wall.
 19. A bag holder as claimed in claim 15 wherein the panel at each end is recessed a short distance from the end within the side walls.
 20. A bag holder as claimed in claim 18 wherein the female connecting strip has a stylized capital C shaped cross-section and the male connecting strip has a stylized capital H shaped cross-section, one leg of the H male strip on one container insertable into the C female strip on another container to interconnect the strips and join the two containers together.
 21. A plastic bag holder comprising an elongate, container with opposed ends, both ends being open; the container having a pair of spaced apart side walls extending between the ends, the sidewalls joined to a front wall and extending to the rear of the container; an end panel at one open end, the end panel closing a rear portion of the one open end to provide a bag inlet opening at the front of the one end, the end panel extending from the rear of the side walls toward the front wall and terminating in a front edge extending between the side walls, the front edge spaced rearwardly from the front wall; the other open end providing a bag outlet opening. 